I had a good night's rest. The next morning, I slid out of bed and took note that Twinkle wasn't there. I took a moment examining myself. I knew what a kirin was, at least in the show. I had the back scales of one. They were a, if you stepped back, actually kind of pretty carpet of blue-purple scales. I couldn't reach them though, at least not with a hoof.

I could, just barely, touch my nose to them and they were strong, but also sensitive? I could feel my nose pressing on them just as my nose felt itself mashing against those hard scales. Supple? Was supple the right word?

I didn't have the scales kirins normally had on their face. My hoof was still one hoof. Kirin were cloven, right? I remembered that. I think? Pretty sure. My hoof was still solid. I tapped it against the ground to be sure.

And my world exploded in white pain as my hoof broke with the strike. Something became wrong, but also right. Gaining a hoof was gaining a mitten with one pad, stiff and forever.

Suddenly that mitten had two, and I could even move them a little. The freedom, compared to none, is hard to put into words, but I could feel it as the pain receded. I gave quiet 'ow's as it happened and hissed, but I didn't do much of anything else, waiting patiently for it to pass.

Breathing a little hard, I brought up the changed hoof and wiggled those two toes each had. I laughed at it. I had fingers again. Sure, they were crude as fingers went, but going from zero to two felt like a whole world had changed. I pressed them against my face and just worked them back and forth, luxuriating in the return of some of that ability. "This is... great."

But work waited for no pony, kirin or not. Just like that, I pulled out my keyboard and got to work, completing the words I owed for the day.

I finished inputting my words for the day and slid the keyboard away, eager to further investigate my changing body now that I had the fine manipulators to do so. I turned at a light knock as Twilight peeked in my door. "David? Did I hear you active already?"

I waved at her, realizing I was showing her my hoof. "I got this." I wriggled my new digits at her. "I love them, a lot."

She hurried to me and grabbed the hoof in her magic. "Kirin foals are born with these. But you were not born a kirin. Perhaps..." She mumbled to herself with her theories. "Did it hurt?" she suddenly asked, breaking her quiet.

I winced mildly, memories of the bursting agony that heralded my new clefts still fresh. "Let's just say the, er, hoof-splitting process wasn't nice, but it passed by quickly enough."

I grinned lopsidedly trying to downplay the vivid recollection. "But hey, nothing worth gaining comes free, right? And having worked for these flexible fingers myself makes me all the more thrilled to have somehow earned them."

I turned my palm upward to gently cradle Twilight's chin, marveling at the nuanced contact. "I'd suffer far worse if it meant I could hold things. Though hopefully, any future anatomical expansions manifest more, ah, delicately..."

"I can only imagine." She inclined her head faintly. "You have school, do you not?"

"And a game later." I stood up and trotted off towards school without even dealing with breakfast.

Twilight turned, shaking her head at me as I went. "Focused. I... know the feeling."

I hurried towards the crystal spires of the school, eager to investigate how my new traits might aid in magical lessons and experiments. My stomach growled faintly in protest at skipping breakfast in my enthusiasm, but I pushed the discomfort aside. After all, wasn't this dramatic transformation sequence fueled by powerful inner fires of a sort themselves? Perhaps hunger held less sway over my altered metabolism now.

Nearing the arched academy entrance, I spotted Sandbar waving in greeting. "HeyaDaoof-!" The lanky earth pony's hail ended in a startled gurgle spotting my approach, eyes rounding comically. Other milling students similarly freeze-framed mid-step catching sight of me, whispers already hissing through the courtyard.

I halted as well, smile freezing awkwardly in place under the sudden weight of countless staring eyes. In my building excitement, facing the social scrutiny that such exotic changes were guaranteed to draw hadn't fully processed. I should have foreseen word spreading swiftly about the school's resident oddity shifting stranger still...

Sandbar broke the stillness first, approaching. "Wow... Um... You okay?"

That startled me into motion, swaying my new tail. It was the same tail, but the hair had moved down to the midsection and down. "I'm okay, promise. Hi!"

"Hey youself." He snorted in a laugh. "Seriously, that's... I never saw that before." He circled around me curiously. "You're a... they went over this..."

"Kirin," noted Smolder, landing near us. "A dragonpony." She puffed flames with a grin.

I flushed under the scrutinizing stares of Sandbar and fellow students, scuffing a newly cleft hoof self-consciously. But Smolder's sly needling over my hybrid status stirred a surprising flicker of pride. Dragon-Pony - was that a new thing or maybe some nice term of endearment?

Buoyed by this brash notion, I lifted my head higher addressing the murmuring onlookers. "Yeah, so the new look took even me by surprise last night," I admitted. "But Twilight tells me kirin represent fire control unattainable by most other species."

I allowed a small grin meeting Smolder's amused eyes. "That isn't a challenge though... You have so much more practice than I do."

A few nervous titters greeted my bravado, but I spotted grudging approval on some faces as well at this refusal to act ashamed. With antisocial outcasts like Gallus even nodding supportively, I dared hope this unwitting metamorphosis hadn't utterly burned bridges with the herd after all...

Emboldened, I took a step towards the crystalline archway, motioning the others to follow. "Now then, with magic theory first thing, I'd say we have some perfect practical spellcasting demonstrations on tap for today!"

Smolder punched me on the shoulder as I passed her and fell in alongside me. "I need to see what fire magic you can do, then you can cry at how much better I am at it." She laughed, but she sounded legit happy about it. "We'll beat some flames into you."

"One thing." She casually reached over, still walking, and rubbed just above my eyes. "Kirin have horns, like unicorns. Where's yours? Freaky, seeing a kirin without one."

I looked up at where her fingers were on me. "I have no idea. Maybe it'll come in? Maybe I won't have one. I don't... know."

We pressed on to class where Twilight stood behind the desk. Right! She was the teacher of Magic Theory! I had read that, taken note of it, and then completely forgot about it. I nodded at her as I took a seat and drew out my keyboard, the one that took notes in class.

"I see many eager faces." Twilight clapped from the front of the room, standing before a cleared chakboard. "I trust everycreature completed their homework?"

A strange sensation tickled at my skin and I looked around for the source. They were casting spells. Each student was holding aloft the result of their spell. Smolder had a strange fireball that folded and unfolded itself. Gallus held gusts of air that assembled little wooden blocks. Even Yona was in on it, her horns glowing brightly with deep thrumming noises.

The rich symphony of spells singing all around formed a painful reminder of comparative inadequacy. I was still so new at magic, and they, clearly, far ahead of me. There I was, thinking I was some kind of hot shot for a moment. That was fixed!

But I didn't want to just give up. I held my cloven hooves up and focused on the one fire spell I knew, that fire icon, the flame. The heat! I stared into the air, reminded of when I tried to do the same thing as a human child. No flame had come to me. Humans couldn't conjure fire without a little help. But I was a kirin.

Kirins could. Flame erupted between my hooves, growing just as wide as my hooves allowed. When I brought them closer, the flame got smaller. When I spread them, the ball got bigger. I laughed with a giddy joy. I had done it. Thirty years later, and I had done it. I had created fire!

I grinned, delighted to finally spark visible proof of inner fire made real, however small. Sustaining a flickering flame wasn't remaking the world yet but it proved I could tap the fire inside me.

Twilight smiled proudly as students murmured, astonished at volatile power awakened. One mare pointed at me with a shaking hoof. "How is he doing that?!" she shrilly demanded.

Twilight made a gentle lowering motion. Spells were put away, and I... How did I stop burning? I brought my hooves together until they touched, and that snuffed the flames. "Phew."

"Class." Twilight nodded across the room. "You all did quite well. As you know, there are many elements around us. We ponies typically dabble in earth and air. Water specialists are sea ponies, still ponies, but they tend to live their entire life in the water."

She nodded towards me. "Opposite that, we have the kirin. With a fire inside, they can match dragons, but are more likely to practice their spellcraft."

Smolder raised a hand swiftly. "Teach! I'm a dragon, and I'm practicing right now." She smirked, aiming it at me. "So I can tan his hide, right?"

Twilight lowered her hooves. "Now now. Let's not get violent. In a direct contest, David has no hope." The class chuckled and giggled at that. "He's still learning the basics. Compared to a born kirin, he's barely a toddler. But, he's advancing quickly. I'm quite proud, and look forward to how he continues to develop."

That was very mixed news. I wasn't sure if I should feel complimented or insulted. Both was an option. "T-thanks," I muttered too quietly to really be heard.

You're completely right about keeping the focus on tangible actions and sensory details to move the scene forward effectively. Inner thoughts have their place to reveal reactions, but should be used judiciously amongst the concrete unfolding events. I'll pay more attention to that balance moving forward.

To get us back on track:

I tucked the keyboard device closer as foals around me practiced various elemental spells, their magical lights casting shifting hues across the room. Behind her lecturn, Twilight stepped closer with an encouraging smile while Smolder made fiery shadow puppets dance teasingly across my desk.

"Don't hide back there, show us more of what you've figured out!" pressed Sandbar, genuine awe replacing any earlier skepticism at my fiery talents. "That mini bonfire was awesome dude!"

Their building cheers stirred a glow rekindling inside that no harsh spotlight could easily extinguish when freely offered in camaraderie. With gathering bravado, I lowered the typewriter with a steadying breath and lit my little magical torch under classmates’ excited gazes once more.

I imagined a little copper in there, just a few flecks. The ball erupted into a brilliant green shade. "Nice."

"Nice," echoed Smolder. "How'd you... You alright?"

I was not feeling alright. A new and intense headache was washing over me. I dropped the fire, which went out on the way to the ground. "Ow." Ow was such a little word compared to what I was feeling, the headache growing worse by the moment as I clopped a hoof against the air feebly.

Twilight folded a wing over me and said something, but I couldn't hear it over whatever was happening. Other students closed in and helped lift me as they hurried me off to the nurse's room.

Author's Note

Oops? What's going on?

Join the special community of folks who like my stories and/or get your own here at atreon!

Don't want to do an ongoing thing? You could

Join my discord to chat!